Stringed musical instrument.



H. W. WEYMANN.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I4, 1916.

1,215,598. Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Fnuentor 1 HARRY W. WEYMANN, 0F PHILADELPHIA. PENNSYLVANIA.

STBINGED MUSICAL IN STBUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Application filed April 14, 1916. Serial No. 90,999.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY W. WEYMANN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Stringed Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide, in stringed musical instruments and more especially in what are known as banjomandolins, a construction whereby the distance between the strings and finger board may be adjusted to suit the desires of the musician, so that he may, with more or less freedom, bring the strings into contact with the frets of the board when stopping the strings in fingering.

My invention, in the commercial adaptation preferred, consists in so connecting the neck with the body or hoop that its outer or free end may be slightly adjusted up or down relatively to the general plane of the body or stretched membrane, and combining therewith suitable means for providing said relative adjustment, whereby the transverse nut on the outer end of the finger board of the neck will simultaneously raise or depress the adjustable ends of all of the strings, so that their portions intermediate of said transverse nut and the bridge on the body or membrane will be correspondingly raised or lowered with respect to the finger board and its frets to provide a greater or less distance between said strings and frets, as desired.

My invention also comprehends details of construction which, together with the improvements aboi e stated, will be better understood by reference'tofthe drawings, in which Figure 1 is a back view of a banjo-mandolin, embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a perspective of a detail.

2 is the body or hoop, over which is stretched the parchment or other membrane 3. The means for stretching the membrane is not material and will need no special description.

1 is the neck and is provided on its inner end with an extension 5 which extends through an aperture 6 in the side of the hoop or body 2. The end of the extension 5 is fitted into a metal socket 7 and both of these parts are definitely positioned in and secured to the body or hoop by the screw 8. In this manner the extension 5 extends diametrically across and within the hoop 2 back of the membrane 3. The neck 1 is shouldered at P where it comes into contact with the hoop 2 and is held in such relation, not only by the screw 8 acting through the socket 7, and brace bar 9, but also by the transverse blocks 20 fitting against the extension and against the in side of the hoop and held in place by the overhanging lugs 21 of the casting 21 secured to the extension 5. The metal brace 9 is, at one end, integral with the socket 7, and its other end is extended to and ,secured tightly to the hub or shouldered portion 4 of the neck 4, as indicated at 10; and intermediate of its ends, this brace 9 is provided with a slotted aperture 11, through which a screw 12 extends, said screw having a collar 14 resting against the brace and adjustably screwed into a plate 13 which is secured to the extension 5 at or near its middle.

The neck 4 has the usual finger board 19 with its frets 19 the transverse nut 15 and suitable means 4* for adjusting the tension of the. strings. The finger board 19 usually extends over the stretched membrane and hoop for some distance as shown, to bring its end to the proper distance from the bridge 17 but I do not restrict myself in this respect. The strings 18 may be secured to a suitable tail piece or otherwise held at 16, as may be customary in instru ments of this class.

The operation of the devices for adjustthe screw, and causes the neck 4 to rock about the edge of the aperture 6 in the hoop 2, with the result that the transverse nut 15 is lowered and with it the strings 18. in this manner the strings are brought nearer to the finger board 19. This operation is assisted also by the alinement of the fingerboard being changed in respect to the plane of the stretched membrane, that is to say its inner end 19 rises slightly and hence approaches the strings in the act of ad justment. By turning the screw in the opposite direction the neck brace and adjuster cause the neck 4 to swing upward at its free end and thereby increase the distance between the strings and fingerboard.

It will be understood that one portion of my invention consists in the finger board so connected to the body that it may be slightly rocked or deflected relatively to the plane of the stretched membrane thereof. It will a so be noted that it is essential in the more specific aspect of my invention that the transverse nut of the neck shall have capacity for being adjusted transversely to the plane of the body or its stretched membrane, to raise or lower the support of the strings and thereby adjust them relatively to the finger board.

In the broadest understanding of my invention, I provide means for supporting the strings at two distant places upon the in strument and insuring a relative adjustment between said strings and the finger board, and I do not restrict myself to the special means herein illustrated for accomplishing the said results.

While I have described my invention more especially for securing an adjustment tween the strings and finger board for the more satisfactory fingering by the musician, it will be understood that this adjustment will tend to slightly change the pitch if tuned before adjustment; it is therefore required in the normal use of my invention, that the neck brace adjuster be adjusted to suit the requirements of the musician and thereafter remain under said adjustment, the tuning of the instrument being then done as usual.

While I have described my invention as used in a banjo-mandolin, :i do not wish to be restricted thereto, as said particular use is by way of example and not of restriction, the improvement being suitable for use with other stringed instruments.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible of modificat on in various particulars without departing rem the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. lln a stringed musical instrument, a body having a stretched membrane, a neck raving a finger board and also having an extension across the body and secured there to, strings and means for securing the same in position, combined with means for adjusting the aline-ment of the finger board with respect to the general plane of the membrane to change the distance between the strings and the finger board, said means consisting of a metal bar across the back of the body and means between the extension and metal bar for bending the extension relatively to the body and thereby adjusting the alinement of the neck.

2. in a stringed musical instrument, the body and strings combined with a neck having a finger board and a transverse nut at its outer end upon which the strings rest beyond the finger board and said neck further havinga flexible extension extending through the body, and means for bending the extension for raising or lowering the outer or free end of the neck and its nut for adjusting the strings relatively to the finger board.

3. in a stringed musical instrument, the body and strings combined with a neck having a finger board and a transverse nut at its outer end upon which the strings rest beyond the finger board and said neck further having a flexible extension extending through the body, and means for bending the extension for raising or lowering the outer or free end of the neck and its nut for adjusting the strings relatively to the finger board, said means consisting of a brace connected at one end to the end of the extension most distant from the neck and connected at its other end to the neck near the body, and a screw between the brace and extension for bending the latter.

4. In a stringed musical instrument, the combination of the hoop having a membrane stretched thereon, a neck having an extension extending through the side of the hoop and held at its other end, a metal brace bar secured at one end to the end of the extension and to the hoop and at the other end to the neck just out-side of the hoop, and an adjusting screw between the brace'bar and the middle part of the extension for bending the same, whereby the neck may be adjustedL upon the hoop.

5. In a stringed musical instrument, the combination of the body having a stretched membrane, with a neck having an extension bending the extension for regulating the whereby said strings may be raised and lowered relatively to the neck.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

HARRY W. WEYMANN. Witnesses:

R. M. HUNTER, FLORENCE DEACON.

arranged across the body and adjustably connected therewith to provide for movement of the neck in a plane transverse to the general plane of the membrane, means for extent of said adjustment of the neck relatively to the body, and strings connected to the body and t0 the free end of the neck,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I), G. 

